How to Ship Cupcakes
Monday, 11 February 2013
If you have someone special in your life who lives far away, I know just what you should send them for Valentine’s Day: a cupcake! I’ve always wanted to mail my cupcakes but I wasn’t sure how to. It’s hard enough just to transport them across town without smashing the frosting. Instead, I always sent cookies, which are so simple to send to anyone. But this time, I really wanted to mail something a little more special out and I suddenly remembered seeing cupcakes in jars somewhere and *BAM* the idea hit me. Why didn’t I think of this before?!
You can actually bake cake directly in a glass jar, but I baked my cupcakes in a regular pan then sliced them in half and layered them in jars with frosting. I think it looks prettier this way, plus who can argue with getting a little extra frosting?
In a small 4 ounce jelly jar (see below), you can either use 2 cupcake halves or 1 full cupcake with just regular frosting on top. In a taller pint jar (see above), you can use 3 cupcake halves layered with frosting to fill it up. I’m sending a couple of each to one family; large for the adults, small for the kids.
See how easy it is:
1. Bake a cupcake and slice it in half. Place 1 half at the bottom of the jar.
2. Pipe some frosting on top.
3. Add cupcake half.
4. Pipe more frosting on top. (With a taller jar, you would repeat steps 3 & 4 one more time.) Add twine and tie disposable spoon to jar (I used some cute mini spoons from Sucre Shop).
Voilà! You get a generous portion of cupcake and frosting that looks beautiful. I love using the small ice cream spoons from Sucre Shop, because they come in tons of colors and designs, are the perfect size, and are lightweight and disposable.
To ship the cupcakes, I topped the jars with lids, wrapped each one in bubble wrap and carefully packed them into a box with some festive tissue paper.
Are you baking anything special for Valentine’s Day this year?
No. 1 — February 11th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Did they get there without being turned upside-down and having the icing stick to the lid? I’m very interested because I know i would love to send cupcakes to my family without the decoration getting smooshed.
TIA
No. 2 — February 11th, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Betty, if you’re worried about the icing getting stuck to the lid, you could freeze them briefly and then take them out of the freezer right before you ship them. I think they will arrive okay though, because the cupcakes perfectly fit into the jars and I had to actually push them down to make them fit, so I don’t think they will move around much, even if the box is turned upside down.
No. 3 — February 11th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
So pretty, what a great idea!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) recently posted meyer lemon & strawberry jam crumb bars
No. 4 — February 11th, 2013 at 9:30 pm
This is brilliant!
No. 5 — February 12th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Omg this is beautiful and a great idea to send baked goods to college kids. My niece is going to love receiving this. I cant wait to make them i only wish i had this post a few days ago could make a great long distance v- day gift.
No. 6 — February 13th, 2013 at 12:54 am
These look so pretty! Great idea
Aishah @ Almond and Honey recently posted Red Velvet Shortbread Sandwich Heart Cookies
No. 7 — February 14th, 2013 at 9:20 pm
Love this idea!
No. 8 — February 15th, 2013 at 4:03 am
This is such an awesome idea and super cute!
Katie recently posted Guest Posting Today over at Rachel Cooks!
No. 9 — February 18th, 2013 at 11:27 am
I send almost every week sweet treats to my mother in law but have been hesitant to make cupcakes. What a great idea Stephanie, thanks for sharing
Roxana | Roxana’s Home Baking recently posted The best homemade dinner rolls (from scratch)
No. 10 — February 27th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
This is a GREAT idea! Thank you so much. I LOVE to make and share cupcakes, and have indeed wanted to send cupcakes!
http://susansumptuousuppers.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/vanilla-and-orange-blossom-cupcakes/
http://susansumptuousuppers.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/christmas-tree-cupcakes/
http://susansumptuousuppers.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/coconut-and-mango-cupcakes/
… there are many more.
Keep up the good work!
No. 11 — March 6th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
This is a great idea! I have always wanted to mail cupcakes but I had no idea how. Thanks for sharing! Where do you get the jars?
No. 12 — March 6th, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Zaynub, those are wide mouth mason jars. You can get them through the Amazon link in the last sentence or in a wide variety of grocery, craft, and hardware stores.
No. 13 — March 24th, 2013 at 2:22 pm
This looks so cute!!! Beautiful idea, love love love it!!
No. 14 — March 27th, 2013 at 7:41 am
This is such a lovely idea and the cupcakes in a jar look totally gorgeous too!
No. 15 — May 11th, 2013 at 5:09 am
My son is in the Navy and keeps telling me he misses my cakes and frosting. This is perfect for sending special boxes to him. Thank you!
No. 16 — May 20th, 2013 at 9:12 pm
The cupcakes/frosting don’t spoil before they reach their destination?